Climbing the Bell: Macau’s 2017 Rebound Accelerates in March
Published April 8, 2018 by Lee R
Private groups in Macau are benefiting from increased tourism which operators are equipped to meet.
March was a healthy month for Macau, and the timing couldn’t be better.
March Revenues Up
According to figures released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, March revenues for the world’s largest gambling hub reached $3.21 billion for a fine year-on-year jump of 22.2% to 26 billion patacas ($3.2 billion).
This is up from February’s total of 24.3 billion patacas (US$3.037 billion).
Cumulative Gains
The cumulative annual total for 2018 now stands at 20.5%, way ahead of most analyst predictions generally forecast at around 16% and leading to widescale re-adaption of investment company prognostications.
Gains have now been posted for 20 consecutive months since five-year lows in 2014 were brought on by general slow economic growth and corruption crackdowns.
Current Landscape
As of the close of 2017, a total of 40 casinos were operating in Macau. Twenty-two of them were run by Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, six by Galaxy Casino, five by Venetian Macau, four by Melco Crown (Macau), two by Wynn Resorts (Macau) and one by MGM Grand Paradise. This group offered a total of 6,419 gambling tables and 15,622 slot machines.
Melco Group Benefits
A major beneficiary in the recovery of Macau is Melco International Development Ltd, whose record-breaking 2017 saw net revenue increase 72.4% to HK $41.2 billion.
Melco saw Casino revenue reach HK$38.4 billion while Adjusted EBITDA vaulted over 80% to HK$9.8 billion, with Melco Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho crediting the overall rebound of the Macau market to bring patrons back to returned to all tables.
Adapting to Growth
Ho credited the gains to effective attraction of Chinese outbound tourism, and looks forward to Melco’s next big project, the impending launch of new luxury hotel Morpheus at City of Dreams which he calls “more than just another building,” but “an architectural masterpiece” destined to “become a tourist attraction in Macau” as “an icon for quality, taste and vision.”
Overview
With this kind of dynamic attitude in Macau, the recovery is sure to continue.
